About August 17

August 17, 2023 is the 229th day of the year 2023 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 136 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.

You can browse the full year calendar in case you need it.

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Leo is the sun sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 177 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

What Happened On August 17

  • 1807
    Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.
  • 1862
    American Civil War: Major General J.E.B. Stuart is assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
  • 1862
    Indian Wars: The Dakota War of 1862 begins in Minnesota as Lakota warriors attack white settlements along the Minnesota River.
  • 1864
    American Civil War: Battle of Gainesville – Confederate forces defeat Union troops near Gainesville, Florida.
  • 1883
    The first public performance of the Dominican Republic’s national anthem, Himno Nacional.
  • 1908
    Fantasmagorie, the first animated cartoon, created by Émile Cohl, is shown in Paris.
  • 1914
    World War I: Battle of Stalluponen – The German army of General Hermann von François defeats the Russian force commanded by Pavel Rennenkampf near modern-day Nesterov, Russia.
  • 1915
    A Category 4 hurricane hits Galveston, Texas with winds at 135 mph.
  • 1918
    Bolshevik revolutionary leader Moisei Uritsky is assassinated.
  • 1942
    World War II: U.S. Marines raid the Japanese-held Pacific island of Makin (Butaritari).
  • 1943
    World War II: The Royal Air Force begins Operation Hydra, the first air raid of the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Germany’s V-weapon programme.
  • 1947
    The Radcliffe Line, the border between Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan is revealed.
  • 1950
    Hill 303 massacre: American POWs were massacred by North Korean Army.
  • 1953
    Addiction: First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous in Southern California.
  • 1960
    Decolonization: Gabon gains independence from France.
  • 1962
    East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin becoming one of the first victims of the wall.
  • 1988
    Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.
  • 1998
    Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an “improper physical relationship” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the same day he admits before the nation that he “misled people” about the relationship.
  • 2004
    The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopts new state symbols for Serbia: Boze Pravde becomes the new anthem and the coat of arms is adopted for the whole country.
  • 2008
    American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first person to win eight gold medals in one Olympic Games.

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